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4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10.2002
TALKTOUS
OPINION
Jay Krail editor 864-4854 or jkrail@kansan.com
Brooke Hesler and Kyle Ramsey managing editors 864-4854 or bhester@kansan.com.and kramsey@kansan.com
Laurel Burchfield readers' representative 864-4810 or ibuchfield@kansan.com
Maggie Koerth and Amy Potter opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Amber Agee
business manager
864-4358 or advertising@kansan.com
Eric Kelting
retail sales manager
864-4358 or
advertising@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fikar
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
884-7666 or mfisher@ansan.com
KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
New fireworks ordinance will cause more problems
The city commissioners of Lawrence are wrestling with the issue of whether to ban all personal fireworks use within city limits. This would mean that anything from air bombs down to handheld sparklers would be illegal and confiscated.
It's a policy meant to protect, but it could actually do more harm than good.
James Henry, city commissioner, said when your fun interferes when another person's safety, that is wrong.
He cited the case of a pile of mulch that lit on fire due to a wayward bottle rocket, which are illegal to buy in Kansas.
This leads to the main concerns.
The problem isn't necessarily the total oreven partial ban on fireworks in the city of Lawrence. The problem is both the enforcement of such a ban and the enforcement area.
The police are not omnipotent. There are a limited number of them and therefore a finite quantity of places they can be at any given time. The Lawrence Police Department has its hands full the week of July 4. To add one more requirement could possibly overburden the system and ensure no crimes are effectively contained.
"What we try to do is the best enforcement possible with the laws in place before us," said Sgt. Mike Patrick, Lawrence Police Department.
However, the area the police have to cover is large and it is doubtful that they will be able to effectively enforce the ban
Additionally, it will still be possible to
They'll go out to the nearby farms to set their merchandise aflame thereby exposing fields to the chance of a brush fire which is a much more serious hazard.
buy and set off fireworks right outside of Lawrence. With the good possibility that the other cities and the government of Douglas County will not enact similar legislation, the chances are high that Lawrence will have to fight fireworks with fire all by their lonesome.
Not only will the blaze spread out more quickly than in the city, help in the form of the fire and medical department will be slower to arrive.
City council members will likely discuss the topic at their Oct. 22 meeting, which would give suppliers notice on the current state of the law well before they purchase items for the Fourth of July.
One potential scenario is that Lawrence citizens won't risk confiscation by setting off Roman candles inside city limits.
Residents of Lawrence can speak their mind on this issue by attending the commission meeting, located in city hall at 6th and Massachusetts streets, on October 22 at 6:35 p.m.
An outright ban, or even a partial ban, is not an inevitability. Speak your mind on the issue and convince the government that the ban on fireworks will cause more harm than good.
Dan Osman for the Editorial Board.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sebelius is no Republican
If the reporter had investigated, he would have found that there is nothing Republican about Sebelius. As a state legislator, Sebelius never met a tax increase she did not like.
On Sept. 30, The University Daily Kansan ran a story about a group of Republicans who support Kathleen Sebelius for Governor ("GOP Votes Defecting to Sebelius"). The article never bothered to look at the records of both Sebelius and Tim Shallenburger, the Republican candidate, to see if either candidate really has any appeal to the opposite parties.
On abortion, Sebelius voted in favor of taxpayer-funded abortions and against parental notification. In 1993, Sebelius voted against protecting the American flag from desecration.
The candidate with appeal to voters in the opposite party is Tim Shallenburger. In 1986, Shallenburger entered public service as an environmentalist. Tim worked with the EPA to reduce pollution in streams and clear piles of contaminated rock in his home district.
It comes as no surprise to many of us that the Kansan would use what Bob Murray, the Shallenburger press secretary, cited as a "publicity gimmick" to paint Sebelius as a Reagan Republican and Shallenburger as someone who is to the right of Attila the Hun.
The Kansan article contained several quotes from the Republicans for Sebelius group and Democrats. The Republican responses to this stunt were buried in the story, and the Republics for Sebelius were never asked what is Republican about Sebellius.
Many students on campus want the Kansan to be objective in its reporting. We could care less if the editorial page is liberal or conservative. The students should get a clear distinction between the front page and the editorial page.
Matthew P. Flynn
Lenoxa junior
Anti-war rhetoric not welcome
As much as I totally disagree with the rhetoric displayed in the Osama Bin
Laden advertisement in the Oct. 8 issue of the Kansan, I totally support its timing.
I want those who are opposed to the upcoming war with Iraq to speak their mind because now is the time to do it. When, and if, this war does take place and our American troops are put in a position of possibly losing their lives; it will not be the time for demonstrations, bickering and propaganda — but rather a time for solidarity and a show of support for our troops.
We cannot have the divisions of the country weighing down the minds of our troops during wartime as it did in Vietnam. To contribute to that would be nothing short of un-American.
John Schneiderwind
Omaha, Neb., graduate student
Labor program works for KU
I am writing today in response the Oct. 3 editorial entitled, "University Needs New System to Track Sweatshop Labor." This piece explained that the goal of the global fair-labor issues group at the University of Kansas is to ensure that goods bearing the KU logo are made under appropriate working conditions. The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is an important part in the effort to help move KU closer to attaining that goal.
The article mentions that "the global fair labor issues group wants updated reports detailing companies in noncompliance," as well as "reports of companies working to correct sweatshop abuses." Thanks to sweeping changes made by the FLA Board of Directors last April, the FLA will be posting on its Web site the reports of its independent external monitors, as well as the names of the FLA companies that are using each factory. This is quite an arduous task and the FLA staff is currently poring through these monitoring reports — the first round of which will be posted on our Web site by the end of the year.
The FLA is proud to have KU as a member and we look forward to the continued growth of our relationship.
Andrew Nelson
University Program Officer
Fair Labor Association
WHITE'S VIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Candidates need to make education positions clear
Monica White/Kansan
As if students at the University of Kansas didn't already have enough to worry about, their educational future lies in the hands of two gubernatorial candidates who refuse to make a definitive statement about education.
COMMENTARY
Both Kansas candidates claim to have a top-notch educational funding plan to revive a failing economy and budget system.
What is most disturbing is that the two candidates aren't filling the voters in on exactly what their plan is.
Democrat Kathleen Sebelius and Republican Tim Shallenburger both claim to be advocates for the educational future of Kansas, but getting a clear answer from either of them is like pulling teeth.
Sebelius has yet to recommend a way to reach a suitable education plan for all Kansans. She has also not yet taken a position on one of the most important issues on many voter's minds, which is the possibility of a tax raise to enhance current educational systems all over the state
Sebelius's Republican opponent Shal lenburger has been a little more clear.
According to Sebelius' Web site, www.ksgovernor.com, her "commitment to education is unwavering," but her stance on educational funding remains unclear.
Meagan Kelleher
opinion@kansan.com
Shallenburger has recommended simply cutting wasteful school spending and avoiding tax cuts in an attempt to boost the state's failing economy. Wouldn't a strong educational plan boost Kansas's economy too?
On Shallenburger's Web site, www.timshallenburger.com, Shallenburger said that "education should be our state's top priority."
With that commitment he said "we can make our schools and universities the best in the nation." What the site lacks is a clear-cut plan that explains how spending in Kansas's schools will be cut.
Voters are being encouraged to vote on the idea that once the winning candidate gets into office, the educational plan will be examined and the best possible solution will be presented them.
This is not a responsible way to garner votes.
If education is the basis for a strong
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
You have to treat some guys like you are being attacked by a bear. I have a stalker, and the only way to get rid of him is play dead or act like I'm passed out.
Free for All
Sexual favors for the return of my goldfish.
I'm here to do a little bit of a public service to all the girls that keep asking me "hey, what's the deal with the bus driver that looks like Johnny Knoxville?" Apparently, he likes long walks in the rain, being hit in the balls and pulling off amazing stunts like driving a KU bus. You're welcome, girls.
brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
Whoever took my maroon and white umbrella out of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, could you please return it. It's not my umbrella, it's my father's, and he's starting to get on me because I haven't
brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
Should you be excited or should you be jealous? I think the bigger question is if in two months do you wanna be still dating this girl, one of the hottest girls at KU, or do you want her to sign your calendar with a message at a bar that says "it was fun while it lasted."
We're all sitting in English class right now,
and our TA isn't here. So we were
wondering, does the five-minute rule apply?
Could someone let us know?
brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
I think that those lazy bums at the Naismith and Oliver bus stop need to get some legs and learn how to walk to campus.
Note to boyfriend: six years equals big fat ring.
图
--brought it back to him. Could you please, please, please bring my maroon and white umbrella back to the Office of Multicultural Affairs?
I was never in my parent's plans. That 01 percent chance that a birth control method doesn't work, that's me.
I don't know about everybody else on campus, but I wouldn't mind paying extra money for printed timetables because this whole Internet thing is ridiculous.
economy and if Kansas is lacking a strong economy now, then the last issue voters want to gamble with is education. Shallenburger and Sebelius need to focus their efforts on coming up with an actual education plan, something more than possibly cutting spending or avoiding tax cuts.
Carrot Top must be stopped.
Perhaps because this state's budget deficit is so complex and such a huge burden on whomever wins this race, Shallenburger and Sebelius are wary about introducing any plan that could get them stuck in a corner.
However, presenting policy for the future is what voters base their selections on, and with nothing but a "let's get into office first then we will look it over" line voters don't have much to work with. Ironically, many voters remain uneducated themselves about the election, and are not aware of the various possibilities for education funding.
Viva la vulva.
Hopefully, Shallenburger and Sebelius will stop sidestepping the issue of education funding and get straight with the people of Kansas.
To win confidence of voters before the polls close in November, the candidates need to gain confidence in their own issues first.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Maggie Koerth or Amy Potter at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com.If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the readers' representative at readersrep@kansan.com.
The Kansan will attempt to run as many submissions as possible that conform to the guidlines below.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Kelleher is an Omaha, Neb., sophomore in journalism.
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